My narrow escape (Home)

After the Hatton flight, there is a lovely section leading up to Kingswood Junction, which is the connection to the (narrow) Stratford Canal. This section of canal is particularly beautiful as it runs high up, sometimes looking down into a valley. It winds along with great views. Beautiful big trees on the meadows Looking down into the valley Flowery meadows Suddenly - a tunnel! Oops. I had missed that one on the map. Fortunately it wasn't very long, only about 400 metres. Easy peasy, you can even see the end Entering Shrewley tunnel Still nice to emerge into the light again A deep cutting at the tunnel exit Elderflower everywhere Lapworth Locks At Kingswood Junction I left the Grand Union with its big locks (woohoo!) and went onto the lovely Stratford canal. Not in the direction of Stratford-on-Avon, but Birmingham. The junction joins directly into - another lock flight. Kingswood Junction The Lapworth flight is 19 locks from t

Looming directly beyond Warwick is the Hatton lock flight of 21 locks. They are spread over about 1.5 miles with a total rise of 45 metres. In the middle there is a section where there are about 10 directly one after the other with only a boat length in between. The flight used to be called the "stairway to heaven" as the working boaters received their wages at the top. A euphemism if ever I have heard one. The day I had planned to tackle the flight it was raining in the morning. As the forecast was bad for the foreseeable future, I went for it anyway. As this is hard work, I definitely wanted to share the locks with another boat. So I sat under the bridge before the first lock and .... waited ... and waited. After waiting for about an hour, I gave up. There was not a soul in sight. Waiting for company before the Hatton locks After having done the first two locks on my own, I came to a slightly longer pound with a boat moored in it. As I was preparing the lock, a

Leamington Spa and Warwick are joined at the hip. Arriving at one end (Leamington) it is only a few miles of canal through both towns to end up at the other end of Warwick. The day after my arrival at Leamington was my birthday. I had discussed with the Idle Women that I'd be coming back to help them with the Stockton Locks and maybe have another go at steering their workboat Tench. I had forgotten that we are all connected on facebook, so of course when I arrived they knew it was my birthday. I was greeted by a Happy Birthday serenade by all the crew accompanied by Heather Wastie on the accordion. A little lockside serenade by Heather Wastie We went through the Stockton Locks, the staircase and the rest of the locks all the way down to near where my boat was moored. They are tougher than I am, as they did my two day legs in one day. I got a good stretch of steering in between locks, but also in and out of some locks. In the evening I staid with them for dinner on Tench